WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2018: The Lock the Gate Alliance is urging the WA Fracking Inquiry to release an interim report of its findings that will be open to public comment prior to the publication of its final report later this year.

Lock the Gate will meet with the inquiry panel this morning to put the case for the interim report and call for greater transparency and public input into the panel’s recommendations.

THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2017: The community of Stirling Estate in the Shire of Capel will declare itself Gasfield Free at a celebration in Mallokup Road at 9.30am this Saturday (March 4).

The event hosted by Stirling Estate Gasfield Free and the Capel Country Women’s Association group comes just one week before the state election and is designed to show voters and political candidates how local residents feel about the development of gasfields in their district.

The Estate is part of an extensive area being sought by Sydney based Bunbury Energy, formerly known as Unconventional Resources Pty Ltd, to explore and mine for gas.

Spokesperson for Stirling Estate Gasfield Free Lisa Simpson said the declaration followed weeks of going house to house, road by road asking residents if they wanted to declare the area Gasfield Free.

“The survey showed that residents were overwhelmingly in favour of declaring the estate Gasfield Free,” Ms Simpson said.

The final tally of results will be revealed at the event on Saturday.

“We are farmers and lifestylers and we want to protect our land, our water, the health of our children and the value of our properties,” Ms Simpson said.

“We want to keep our community gasfield free and this declaration says to the government, the Department of Mines and Petroleum and the gas company that they are not welcome to come into our area to explore or drill for gas.

“We want to retain our way of life and we do not want to put our water resources at risk. Clean water is far more valuable to us now and in the future than any gas that might be mined from beneath our farmlands and our homes.

“Our declaration means that gas companies do not have a social licence to operate in this district.”

The declaration will include catering by the CWA and is open to the public.

“We have had a lot of interest from other communities keen to do a similar survey in their area and we plan to give them as much help as we can.”

Stirling Estate will become the third community in the Shire of Capel to declare themselves Gasfield Free and the fifth community in the south west. They follow Quedjinup in the City of Busselton that declared last weekend.

Stirling Estate will join nearly 440 other communities nationwide who have been declared Gasfield Free.

The event will take place at 579 Mallokup Road Stirling Estate at 9.30am Saturday March 4.

Further information: Jane Hammond 0403 926 467

AUGUST 8, 2016: It was standing room only for a screening of Lock the Gate’s A Fractured Country in Cowaramup last Friday (August 6).

The crowd turned out to see the film, which tells the story of the gas rush currently taking place in Australia, and find out more about the Gasfield Free Community movement that has developed in response to the industry